Dell has changed its rhetoric but resellers could be forgiven if they found its recent infatuation with the channel threadbare–at least until today. Having signed up both Ingram Micro and Tech Data to get the ball rolling in the U.S. (Canada will follow this spring), it appears that Dell is finally delivering. The initial deal, announced Tuesday, involves Dell’s SMB-targeted value line, Vostro desktops and notebooks, but the company stated other products will be added.
“We are super excited about this,” said Keith Bradley, president of Ingram Micro North America. Besides the incremental revenue opportunity, he said it is also really significant as a major brand recognizes that they need the channel to sell to the SMB market.
The best way to get product to end users is through the channel, he said. “So the endorsement of Dell . . . can be nothing but good for VARs.”
All three companies said customers were a big factor in the announcement. “Our partners value Dell’s ability to custom configure IT, but they’re telling us there are times when customers’ needs are more urgent, and this agreement shows our commitment to act on feedback from partners,” said Greg Davis, vice president and general manager, Dell’s global commercial channels, in a prepared statement.
“Dell is responding to the same input we’ve received from our reseller customers,” stated Ken Lamneck, Tech Data’s Americas president.
The immediate focus for Ingram Micro will be to marshal its customers that already sell Dell products and try and grow their sales, said Bradley. The distributor’s ability to do deep analysis of who they are, and the opportunities available in the “S” portion of the SMB market were one of keys to the partnership, he said. “They (Dell) were very impressed with how Ingram uses data analytics.”
The Vostro line will be targeted at small companies with little or no IT infrastructure or skills.
“Everybody in the world is looking at pockets of growth,” said Bradley, and the SMB market remains one of the biggest growth opportunities. The distributor will begin calling its Dell customers this week, he added.
Analyst Denise Sangster, president and CEO, Global Touch Inc., thinks this is a fantastic deal for everybody. “I think it’s very exciting. It’s a new chapter for Dell (and) if anybody can help them make this work, it’s these two big partners.”
Dell has been the number one or number two customer for both distributors for over a decade, so she sees this as a natural extension of that relationship. Plus it raises the bar for other PC vendors. If anything, she faults Dell for not doing this much earlier.
“I think Dell would have done much better if they had done this two years ago, rather than go into retail. That was just ludicrous.”
For the channel, it gives them a chance to add services and get a bigger share of the customer’s wallet. She said the deal is good for Dell because the channel is just an unpaid sales force. “The added potential for feet on the street to be selling Dell equipment is really smart. SMB is where the money is.” The company also doesn’t have to worry about credit or scaling its partner program.
Bradley said product was delivered today and customers can begin ordering tomorrow. The distributor’s systems and peripheral category can use some good news, he said. It, along with the enterprise, are delivering less-than-average results, unlike the networking, security and software categories. SMB continues to be significantly better than average, he said.
This story was originally published in eChannelLine (www.eChannelLine.com).
